Chance

by Rachel Rise

  “Oh really? Great!” Courtney eagerly replied. “Do you think you might be able to come?” she asked. “I’m sorry the invitation was late going out.”

  I had to admit that I didn’t even notice the date. I looked at it and found that it was only a week away, but shockingly I had no plans. “No worries. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You know I’ll be there,” I eagerly stated.

  “Awesome! I’ll put you down,” Courtney stated. “It should be a pretty grand occasion. Between Matthew’s family and friends and my family and friends, we’re looking at about thirty guests.”

  My jaw dropped, I was glad she wasn’t standing there and able to see me. “Thirty?” I asked casually. That seemed a bit overkill, but it wasn’t my problem.

  Courtney laughed on the other end. “Yep, thirty. A person only turns one once and I couldn’t imagine turning anyone away.” She then started giggling. “I have to tell you the funniest thing that Joey did the other day. Matt had on the radio in the car and was singing along to it and I was on the passenger side. Pretty soon I hear babbling in the backseat where Joey’s car seat was.” She laughed again. “He was making noises as if he was actually singing the song. It was so darn cute. We laughed for hours over that, because he wasn’t making any words out, but he was sure having a wonderful time back there.

  I laughed, so she didn’t think I was being rude or anything, but hearing her eagerly talking about her son and husband had me feeling a bit sad. All these emotions came to the front and I wished that it was me talking about my own family. I didn’t want to be jealous, but sometimes it was harder than others.

  CHAPTER 2

  Mark

  T

  he sound of guests laughing and trying to talk over the music blaring in the background was what I encountered as I walked down the stairs of one of the many bars I owned in the area. I was just about to reach the bottom step when I heard a loud ruckus coming from the corner of the bar, then an even louder commotion that seemed to carry through the bar, with the music suddenly dying.

  “Get your hands off of her you punk!” One man hollered over the chattering that was around the tables.

  “She’s here with me. If you couldn’t keep her happy, then no wonder she stepped out on you,” the other guy hollered.

  I looked between the two, both appeared they were more than capable of taking care of themselves, so I didn’t want to interfere, just thought I’d be a silent watcher. “You shouldn’t sweet talk another guy’s wife,” man number one spoke.

  My eyes darted between the two men that were obviously fighting over the woman that was off to the side and begging them to stop. I stepped closer, just to make sure I was within shot if something worse was to happen that would lead to bloodshed. “I did no such thing. The bitch wanted to be with me, not you.”

  That’s when I knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty. “Don’t call her a bitch!” Guy number one, pulled back his arm and belted the other guy in the jaw, then the crowd was screaming and the men started to rumble. I rushed over.

  I grabbed onto guy number one’s arms and pulled back and he fought me every way. “I will not stand for bloodshed in my bar,” I said.

  “Let me at him!” He yelled, throwing punches towards the other man.

  The other guy stood up and started to go at us, but Luke, one of my employees was quick to pull him back. I pulled the man back that I was holding onto and tossed him to the side and he looked at me with a dazed look in his eyes. He shot a glare towards the other man and the woman started crying, as two other women tried to console her and whisk her away to somewhere private.

  “I want you both out of my club and I don’t want to see you again!” I said, pointing my fingers towards both men. “If you want to fight, then do it outside where I don’t have to look at you,” I snapped.

  Both men grimaced and I looked between them, giving them a don’t fuck with me look. “Fine!” Guy number one muttered, pushing past us and heading towards the door. His wife was still in the club, crying her eyes out while the two women with her stayed by her side.

  I looked at the other man. “Do I need to give you another warning?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nah, man. It’s cool.” He turned around and started to leave, but not before he gave the woman he was with an apologetic look.

  I wondered if the apology was because he got into a fight with her husband or because he called her a bitch. She didn’t seem to care either way. I walked away from the commotion and told the guests to go back to what they were doing, then motioned for them to fire the music back up.

  As I was heading towards the bar, I spotted a woman staring at me. She was about 5”8’ with red hair that cascaded past her shoulders and bright green eyes. I smiled at her and she seemed to take note right away, as she moved closer to me.

  “Hello,” she said.

  I nodded. “Ma’am,” I simply replied.

  “That was pretty impressive over there. Stop fights like that all the time?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Not if I can help it.” I then nodded. “Now, you have a good night.” I winked at her as an added bonus and she ate it right up, but didn’t want to let me get past her that quickly.

  “Wanna buy me a drink?” she asked in her most flirtatious of voices I had to assume.

  I laughed at that question. “Ma’am, I own the place, so I don’t need to buy you a drink.”

  She grinned. “Even better! I’ll take a whiskey.”

  I had to admit she was pretty presumptuous and quite pushy. Usually I admired that in women, but the night seemed to be taking a new turn and instead I just wanted to be polite but be anywhere but there. To my relief, my cellphone started ringing, so I had to excuse myself.

  “Pardon me, but I have to take this. Luke, get this woman a whiskey.” I smiled at her and nodded as I took the call. “Hello?”

  I pushed my way through the double doors that led to my office as I waited for the caller to speak. “It’s Blaze, Boss.”

  “Hey, so…how’d it go?” I asked, taking a seat behind my desk.

  “Not great,” Blaze answered. “We missed the window of opportunity and I’m afraid it cost us.”

  “What do you mean it cost you?” I asked, raising my voice a couple notches.

  “Just that,” Blaze said. “We were late and by the time we got there he was gone. I think someone tipped him off, too. I don’t know. I tried contacting him, but there was no answer. It went straight to voicemail. I don’t want you to panic, but—.”

  “You don’t want me to panic?” I asked, nearly screaming into the phone. “How can I not panic when you’re telling me that you might have screwed everything up? This was your shot to prove yourself and you’re telling me that everything could have just gone up in smoke. This isn’t acceptable.”

  “I know and I’m sorry. I’ll fix everything. I’ll reach out to him again and I’m sure we’ll be able to reach an agreement.”

  “Blaze, you better be right, or you’re out! I mean it this time. Fix this!”

  I hung up the call and stared ahead. If Blaze didn’t make it right, we could be out millions of dollars, or worse…someone could go to jail.

  CHAPTER 3

  Brynlee

  D

  riving down the road of Courtney’s house, I saw that several cars were already parked out on the street and in the driveway, so I wasn’t the first one there. Over the past two weeks I had to talk myself several times into going to the party.

  Now, here I was on the Saturday of the party and driving down her road, almost as if I felt like I was on death row and heading to the guillotine or something. I pulled onto the side of the road that was across from the house and grabbed Joey’s package. I kept telling myself it would be alright and I would be fine. It wasn’t exactly the time of conversation one would expect when going to a little kid’s birthday party.

  I rang the doorbell and I heard several p
eople talking inside the house. I put on a smile and it was Matthew to answer the door. “Hey, Brynlee. Welcome, welcome! Thanks for coming.” He hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, then directed me to a table where I could put the gift.

  “Thanks!” I said, still smiling. I put down the gift and spotted Courtney talking to someone that I didn’t know. She had Joey in her arms, so I waved.

  She waved, then motioned for me to go over. I reluctantly went over that way. “I want you to meet someone,” she said to me as I got there. “Brynlee, this is Matthew’s Aunt Rachel. Aunt Rachel, this is my best friend Brynlee.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” I said, putting out my hand.”

  She nodded. “Likewise, dear.” She was probably in her late seventies, maybe early eighties, but I noticed right of that looking her in the eyes, she did look a lot like Matthew.

  I then turned to Joey. “Wanna come to me birthday boy?” I asked, holding out my hands to see if he would come. To my genuine relief, he did.

  Courtney gave me a grateful look as I walked around with him a little bit. Several people said hello to me, most likely because I was the one holding the little one.

  “You excited, Joey?” I asked, turning him around to have him look up at me. I swore he nodded his response. “Are you one?” I asked, holding up my finger. He grabbed onto my finger and this time I know he nodded. I laughed. “Right you are, buddy.” I turned around and that’s when I spotted him. He was standing at the punch table and his eyes were on me, or on Joey, but it looked like his eyes were directed to me. I blushed and smiled, then looked away, realizing how gorgeous he was. I could almost sense his eyes back on me as I nervously stood there, wanting to look, but finding that I better not.

  “I’ll take him back. He has some people that want to see him over there.” Courtney grabbed him from me and I tried to calm my racing heart. “But thanks for the reprieve.”

  “Um…anytime,” I said. I heard the shakiness in my voice and wondered if she did, too, but there was no sign that she did. After Courtney walked away, I looked up, mainly to test my theory as to whether the hot guy was looking at me or at Joey and he was still watching me. He raised his cup, then took a drink and found myself intrigued by him. I hoped I got the chance to find out who the mysterious man was, but after the thought left me, I heard Matthew’s voice.

  “We’re going to get started with presents. If you want to grab a chair, or stand where you are since we don’t have enough seats,” he laughed, “then we’ll get started.” I chose to stand where I was, just stepping back enough until my back rested against the wall. I was then able to observe Joey opening his gifts and the strange man standing at the drink table.

  ***

  Matthew and Courtney helped Joey to open his gifts, while everyone oohed and aahed over what he got. I did the same, making a fuss over the loot that he pulled in, from puzzles and books, to clothes and lots more clothes, and then there were several cards that contained money.

  The opening of the presents took roughly an hour, at least from a glance at my watch, but you can’t rush two doting parents that wanted to make sure they spent the same amount of time on all gifts, so no one questioned favoritism. I had to fight back a couple yawns though, but eventually we got through them and I’d be lying if I said that through that entire hour I didn’t notice the man’s eyes still looking my way.

  After the presents there were snacks and Matthew cut the cake, but not before they gave a cake to Joey and he reached into the center of it with both his hands. Everyone cooed over that and there were several pictures being shot, including the one that I took. After that Courtney whisked him away to start cleaning him up as Matthew told everyone they could dig in and get a slice of cake.

  I held back, because no woman wanted to be the first person in line to look like a pig and get her piece of cake, so I made sure that I was relatively late in going up there. When I did, I grabbed a plate and put a piece of cake on it, along with some mints and peanuts, and added some celery and carrots for good measure.

  I then grabbed a drink and sought out a chair. As my eyes scanned the room, I spotted him again. He was now leaning against the wall and talking to the woman that I had been introduced to earlier, Matthew’s Aunt Rachel. His back was to me, so he didn’t notice me gawking, which was a relief, because I would have been mortified if he would have known he made an impression.

  I found a chair that was on the opposite side of the room and headed that way. I passed a few people and I just smiled and nodded, cordially, then took my seat. I put the cup on the floor, so I had my hands to eat what was on my plate and while I did I glanced around at the others in the living room. Most everybody had someone to talk to. I looked down, trying not to think on that and noticed Courtney headed my way.

  “Hey!” she said, grabbing the seat next to me.

  “Hey! Get Joey all cleaned up?” I asked, chuckling.

  She laughed. “Yeah, but he’ll probably have icing in his nose for at least two weeks.”

  We laughed at that and went onto eating our cake. “Where is he now?” I asked.

  “Oh…Matthew’s mom took him for a bit to give us a chance to mingle and socialize.” She then looked around and then turned to me. “Have you been socializing?” she asked, taking a bite of her cake.

  I shrugged. “Maybe when I’m done eating.” I then looked around. “But I don’t really know anyone here and it seems everyone has pretty much paired up.” I laughed, as if this was some kind of recess game and you needed a partner.

  Courtney tilted her head and smirked. “Since when are you nervous about barging into someone’s conversation?”

  I chuckled, picking up my drink and taking a swig. I then shrugged. It was true that in most situations I didn’t shy away from diverse groups, but this seemed different. These people here were a different breed. They were most likely a parent and came from different stages in their lives. We’d have nothing in common and going up to them, as if we did, just seemed strange.

  “I’ll socialize when I’m finished,” I said, reiterating that I would indeed set forth to talk to these people I didn’t know. She seemed alright with that. “The party seemed to go well,” I said.

  She nodded as she finished off her last bite of her cake. “I think so.” She heaved a sigh. “It was a lot of work though, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.”

  I nodded and took the last of my drink. “I think I’m going to get another drink. Need anything?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope, I’m good. Thanks!” I got up and headed out of the living room, with my empty plate and cup in hand. I tossed them in the trash can, then turned to the table for the drinks and that’s when I saw him standing there at the table. I casually walked up, not realizing how close I was to him, until I brushed against him when I reached out for a cup.

  “Excuse me,” I said, blushing a little as I looked up. He looked at me and I couldn’t mistake the grin on his face. He stepped to the side, then turned to face me.

  “Not a problem,” he said. I took a drink, considering how I could go back to my seat or I could make good on my promise to Courtney and socialize with the guests, so I went with the latter.

  “Nice party, huh?” I asked.

  He smiled and looked around. “I do believe it could go down in the records book for kid birthday parties.” He laughed and I joined in. I was immediately comforted with his humor.

  “I agree! No one could compete.” I chuckled as I took another drink.

  He smiled and nodded and I was once again drawn into his handsome looks and I could now add charm to his characteristics. I took the leap. “The name’s Brynlee.”

  His face lit up. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand and I shook it. “The name’s Mark.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  It felt right talking to Mark. He seemed to not only have the looks and charm, but to have the ability to just see
m genuine. I didn’t think anyone could be the whole package, but this guy seemed to have it all and before I knew it, we had been talking for more than an hour. The only reason I realized it was an hour, was because the guests started to leave in droves and I found that I wasn’t even the least bit interested in going. However, I did look at my watch as I finished my third drink and saw a few more people leaving.

  “Looks like the place is clearing out?” I said, looking around and discovering that there were only a handful of people still there.

  “What?” he asked. “Didn’t the party just start?”

  I laughed and looked up at him. “I know…seriously!” We both laughed, obviously both realizing that was a joke, because after an hour of gifts, there was another hour of snacks and now we had just been talking for over an hour. So, it’d been at least three hours of party time and I could say that it was longer than I intended on staying.

  “I guess it just seemed like the party just started,” he said. There was a softness in his voice, even though it didn’t match his looks.

  I nodded, taking the last drink of my punch, then tossing the cup. “It has been nice chatting with you, Mark.”

  He nodded. “Likewise.” He smiled and I had to look away before I got swept away again. I opened my mouth to tell him that maybe I should take heed and get out of there, too, when Courtney approached us, with Joey in her arms. He still looked wide-eyed, most likely from the sugar rush of the cake.

  I smiled. “Hey, little guy!” I squeezed his arm gently.